Digestive Health

Julie Engquist ties her shoes. She sleeps with just one pillow. She walks her dog. If these things don’t sound groundbreaking, you’ve likely never contended with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). But Julie had. For 10 years. “The pain and discomfort were overwhelming,” she said. “There were a few times where I thought I was having … Read More

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., November 14, 2022 — Hoag has recruited board-certified gastroenterologist Catherine Ngo, M.D., to head the Hoag Digestive Health Institute’s Motility Program. Dr. Ngo has built a reputation over the last decade as a compassionate, approachable and thorough physician with a strong background in motility. Gastrointestinal motility refers to the coordinated action of … Read More

Tamra Rose says she was overweight most of her adult life. But when her son turned a year and a half, and the scale tipped passed her delivery weight, Tamra had enough. She works at Hoag and had learned from a colleague that the hospital was opening a Bariatric Surgery Weight Loss Program. She had … Read More

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., July 19, 2022 — Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian has recruited innovative colorectal surgeon Elizabeth R. Raskin, M.D., as surgical director for the Margolis Family Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Program within Hoag’s Digestive Health Institute. Dr. Raskin comes to Hoag from University of California, Davis Medical Center, where she served as Chief of … Read More

Within minutes of their first meeting, Caitlin Houghton, M.D., said the words that Brittney Pisanelli, 33, had been hoping to hear for most of her life: “You have options.” “I started crying in her office,” Brittney said. “I had never been told that before. Someone wanted to help me. Someone wanted to help me function … Read More

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., May 5, 2022 — Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian is the first hospital in California to offer an artificial intelligence (AI) enhancement to patients receiving a colonoscopy. Using the GI Genius™ intelligent endoscopy module, Hoag’s physicians have begun putting the promise of AI to work in detecting polyps and other colorectal abnormalities with … Read More

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif., March 28, 2022 — Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian announced that bariatric surgery specialist Adrian Dobrowolsky, M.D., will be director of Hoag’s new Bariatric Surgery Weight Loss Program. With Dr. Dobrowolsky as surgical director, patients will benefit from the expertise he has developed performing hundreds of minimally invasive bariatric surgeries throughout his career, … Read More

The weight gain happened slowly, following a back injury that benched the soccer-loving Lori Zaccari at the age of 31. Then health issues started to creep in – rising cholesterol levels and blood pressure, borderline diabetes. By the time Lori Zaccari was 44, her appearance and health had undergone a troubling transformation. She stopped posing … Read More

Frederick Tuerck knew he suffered from gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), a condition that causes acid reflux to backwash from the stomach, eroding the lining of the esophagus. Over time, this led to frequent pain traveling from his chest to his spine, leaving him increasingly frustrated. Over the course of 30 years, as he served his … Read More